The United Nations 2030 Agenda is a plan designed to encourage prosperity that is respectful of the planet and its inhabitants. The Agenda will help introduce the concept of education for sustainability (EfS) to a wider population in order to promote inter- and trans-disciplinary knowledge about sustainability. Connecting Earth Sciences (ES) with sustainability allows us to deal with the ethical dimensions and the social implications of this field. The belief is that improving the delivery of knowledge around sustainability issues will make visible the potential of ES education as a key component of EfS. The aim of this paper is to understand whether the young Italian ES community has sufficient knowledge of and a shared interest in, sustainability. The conviction is that awareness of these topics among the younger generations is fundamental to building a new pedagogical paradigm. This study shows the results of a survey taken by participants of BeGeo 2021, the Italian national congress dedicated to young geoscientists, held in Napoli in October 2021. The majority of respondents had limited knowledge about sustainability, and only a few had attended academic activities that included these topics. Nonetheless, the importance of sustainability is well recognized and there is a great need to increase the number of activities connected to EfS.

The combined annual Congress of the Italian Geological Society (Società Geologica Italiana, SGI) and the Italian Mineralogical and Petrological Society (Società Italiana di Mineralogia e Petrologia, SIMP), dedicated to Geosciences for a sustainable future, took place in Turin in September 2022. This was an opportunity to critically reflect on the role of geosciences for our society and planet, and the role that geoscientists have to play in the education of citizens, for the prevention of natural hazards and the conservation of cultural and natural heritage. In continuity with our previous work on the awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals among young geoscientists in Italy, the present study attempts to expand the investigated sample to include the entire Italian community of geoscientists. The aim is to highlight: (1) the most widespread opinions on the link between Earth Sciences and the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda; (2) what steps have been taken by Italian Earth Sciences departments for sustainability education and what could be the best strategies to develop sustainability related to geoscience topics. According to 229 answers to a questionnaire sent to congress participants (corresponding to 20% of the total amount), the results highlight that the Italian geocommunity (at least its younger members) has a high awareness of the implications of its work and research with sustainability issues, and, in particular, their responsibility to the environment; notwithstanding this awareness, the level of average familiarity with the 2030 Agenda and its goals is still low. In order to bridge this gap, it is recognized that there is an urgent need for sustainability education efforts in departments and the use of inter- and trans-disciplinary teaching approaches that can educate both students and practitioners to be capable of addressing the challenging issues of today.

This essay is the full paper version of authors’ intervention during the webinar Geoethics without borders. Transdisciplinary visions for sustainability, held in October 13th 2022. The concept of geoethics, initially associated to environmental, social and economic issues inherent to exploration and exploitation of georesources, has turned over the last few years on an educational and political dimension, in order to be introduced outside the geoscience community and to improve the way humans interact responsibly with the Earth’s system. Inspired by the call-for-commitment for a pedagogical and political project towards future sustainable societies made by Peppoloni and Di Capua, as well as by the Bohle’s idea of relating geoethical thinking with the political philosophy, this paper aims to enlarge the geoethical glossary, connecting geoethics to some key terms of ecological philosophy and analyzing the contribution that the related theories can give, with a view to building an educational and political proposal in accordance with the principles of geoethics. The three terms we propose are Haraway’s response-ability, Barad’s intra-action and Ingold’s correspondence. To move beyond the theoretical framework and orient toward educational practices, we suggest in conclusion to consider, alongside the three adjectives outlined by Peppoloni and Di Capua (inclusive, participatory and proactive), the so-called "3-Ts" of environmental education (transformative, transgressive and transdisciplinary) and also a new triad of adjectives (ecological, aesthetic and ecumenical), rooted in the theories we have analyzed.

We very much appreciate and thank Andrea Fildani and Angela Hessler for their comment

During the last decades, especially the last one, the importance of geoethics has been highlighted by the major consciousness about the role of geoscience, and  geoscientists, on environmental and social challenges that the world has to face.This awareness has been raised in accordance with the 17 sustainable development goals of the UNESCO 2030 Agenda. This document led to the wider popularity of the concept of education for sustainability (EfS) as an evolution of what was formerly known as environmental education (EE) or education for sustainable development (ESD). The main purpose of EfS is to promote an inter and trans-disciplinary knowledge, capable of framing the complexity of the current crisis.In one of the last publications about geoethics (Di Capua, Peppoloni 2019) the authors encourage geoscientists to be aware of the geological community role and to reflect on the ethical responsibility that this implies. Moving from this call for engagement, this study focuses on the Italian situation.Does the Italian Earth Sciences community have enough knowledge and a real shared interest on sustainability, in order to shift to a geoethical perspective? This study shows the results of a survey conducted between the participants of BeGeo21, the first Italian national congress dedicated to young geoscientists (MSc and PhD), held in Napoli in October 2021. The data analysis shows that the majority of respondents has scarce knowledge about sustainability and the 17 SDGs and only a few had the possibility to attend courses and seminars about these topics in their department. Nonetheless, the importance of the sustainability, and thus geoethic, point of view for the future of Geosciences is well recognized and there’s a wide request for our higher education institutions to increase the number of activities connected to EfS. 

The annual Congress of the Società Geologica Italiana (SGI) and Società Italiana di MIneralogia e Petrologia (SIMP), held in Turin in September 2022 and dedicated to Geosciences for a sustainable future, has been the occasion to critically think on the role of the Geosciences for our society and planet, on the position geoscientists deserve and the role they must take in the formation of citizens, protection from natural hazards and preservation of cultural and natural heritage. In continuation of our previously published work Are we ready for a sustainable development? A survey among young geoscientists in Italy , the present study broadens the sample analyzed to include the entire Italian community of geoscientists and aims to highlight: 1) The relevance of the ethical aspects connected to the work of professionals and scholars, in accordance with the values of geoethics; 2) the most widely held views about the connections between the Earth Sciences and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda; 3) which initiatives have been put in place by Italian Earth Sciences departments on education for sustainability and which can be the best strategies for developing sustainability education related to geoscience issues. Based on 230 answers to a questionnaire with open and closed questions sent to the participants at the Congress, the results show that the Italian geocommunity has great awareness of the ethical implications of its work and research, in particular of the responsibility towards the environment; despite this consciousness, the average level of knowledge about the 2030 Agenda and its goals is still scarce. To fill this gap, the need for sustainability education initiatives in departments is recognized as urgent, as well as the use of inter- and transdisciplinary educational approaches that can train scholars and professionals capable of addressing the complex challenges of our time.